Bill HR 515 - click here for the roll call vote (click here). Republicans are the majority of those that opposed the vote and they are recorded in red and those in green didn't vote. Having an economy that puts 'peril' in our society is not an economy at all.
Considering this only became an issue in April of 2009 for the NRC, I think the House, in committee and otherwise, acted very quickly.
Gordon foreign waste ban passes committee vote (click title to entry - thank you)
Posted: Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:36 pm
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday approved Congressman Bart Gordon’s bipartisan legislation to ban the importation of foreign radioactive waste. Gordon’s bill, the Radioactive Import Deterrence (RID) Act, H.R. 515, would prevent foreign-generated radioactive waste from being processed in Tennessee and disposed in the U.S.
“We’re the only nation in the world that accepts the nuclear waste of other countries for disposal and incurs the responsibility of monitoring it for generations to come,” said Gordon. “I am pleased my colleagues on the Committee recognized the importance of stopping this practice and approved this bipartisan legislation. Today’s vote brings the RID Act one step closer to becoming law.”
Currently, a permit is pending with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import 20,000 tons of Italian low-level radioactive waste for disposal in the United States. This would be the largest importation ever of foreign-generated radioactive waste. Permits to import and dispose radioactive waste from Mexico and Brazil are also pending. If these permits are approved, the nuclear waste shipments would be sent to Tennessee for processing and later disposed in Utah....
The material is put in plastic buckets and then wrapped in plastic bags in case there is a spill from the bucket while humans work with the darn stuff. It is then placed in metal barrels. That's safe? Not in my lifetime.
In April of 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a request from Italy to accept 20,000 tons of nuclear waste into Utah after it was first processed in Tennessee. The NRC had no mechanism to say no. They didn't have the authority to regulate imported waste when received by a processing facility in the USA.
If it was allowed, the waste would be coming my ship to ports in the USA and transported by truck to Tennesee and then to Utah.
The Democratic held majority in the House passed legislation on December 2, 2009 to stop any nuclear waste from entering the USA. 112 House Representatives voted against the bill and favored the importation of such waste and another 13 abstained from the vote. So, basically, 125 House Representatives didn't care about the dangers of such materials coming into our ports and across our roads. That is a significant issue to look at when they seek office again.
Yucca Mountain
